


Welcome to Your Life

by scy



Category: S.C.I.谜案集 | S.C.I. Mystery (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2020-03-13 08:25:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18937147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scy/pseuds/scy
Summary: Zhan Yao confronts several unavoidable facts.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to explore what would happen if Zhan Yao got fed up with his father's treatment - and then was let loose on the world without that sort of influence. Which isn't to say that OTHER influences won't be making an appearance at some point. lilija_the_red kindly shouted with me about the possibilities & read this over.

Zhan Yao had been in the infirmary when the headmaster called his father for the third time that term.

“Mr. Zhan, I wanted to let you know that Zhan Yao has been involved in another violent altercation with his classmates.”

Zhan Yao could guess at his father’s response and waited while the nurse cleaned gravel out of his scraped palms.

“Of course we’re looking into what caused the incident, but school policy dictates that after several events of this nature we have to review what’s best for the student. This school may not be the right fit for him.”

The headmaster cleared his throat. “Yes, one moment, here he is.” He handed the phone to Zhan Yao.

“What kind of trouble are you getting into? I sent you there to learn, not pick fights with other students! What’s wrong with you that you can’t recognize an opportunity when it’s right in front of you!”

Zhan Yao waited for his father to take a breath. “I didn’t start any fights, they attacked me,”

“You need to think about how you conduct yourself. Now the headmaster thinks you’re not good enough for the academy. What a disappointment.”

Zhan Yao exhaled deeply. “They want me to come home for the summer.”

“I’ve told you, the agreement is you spend a year there without any incidents and we’d discuss it. But I think you may need longer.”

“They want me to take the summer off,” Zhan Yao said. He wasn’t supposed to backtalk, but it seemed like his father only heard what he wanted to and preferred arguing about why his son was wrong than letting Zhan Yao get anything he wanted.

“There’s no question you’ll remain at school. Apologize to those students, make connections and study this summer.”

The line disconnected and Zhan Yao was left listening to static, which, he reflected, was a huge improvement over his father’s lectures.

The headmaster and nurse glance at each other and then at him. “Zhan Yao, do you think it’s a good idea to remain here, or -”

“My father said I’m staying here this summer.” Zhan Yao got to his feet and bowed his head to both of them. “Thank you for your concern. I’ll go back to my dorm.”

It wasn’t as if Zhan Yao had expected his father to be happy he’d gotten in a fight, but just once, it would have been nice to have him side with his own son over strangers.

The hallways of the academy were long and wide with statues and elaborately carved columns every few feet. It gave the impression of walking among sleeping gods, but they were as unhelpful of witnesses as nearly everyone else.

Zhan Yao had almost reached the staircase leading to the boy’s first-year dormitory when the trio of boys who’d targeted him at the beginning of term arrived.

“Back from tattling to your daddy?” one of them taunted. He was stocky and sneered most of the time. It didn’t seem like an appealing habit, but other boys automatically went along with him.

Zhan Yao didn’t bother to defend himself or respond. Neither of these options yielded anything but more unwanted attention and he’d only just gotten his hands bandaged up from the morning’s confrontation.

He tried to move past the boy nearest to the stairs but was shoved back, the other kid’s hands landing on a fresh bruise. “Hey! Where d’you think you’re going? Listen to us when we talk to you!”

A few days ago Zhan Yao might have endured it. Tried to run past or fought them off until one of the teachers heard the noise and broke up the right. But today felt scraped bare of his ability to even pretend he wanted to play any part in this little power struggle. He breathed in and out several times and looked directly into the eyes of the ringleader as he tapped his fingers audibly on the wall next to him. “You are so very small. Look around. Everyone else sees it. That’s all they think.”

As Zhan Yao spoke he advanced on the stocky kid, who stared, eyes wide and fixed on him, unable to move.

“What are you doing to him?” yelled one of the other boys.

Their ringleader was trembling when Zhan Yao was close enough to touch him, but he knew better. Instead, he leaned forward and whispered directly into the boy’s ear. Then he stepped back, turned and walked up the stairs, hearing the sound of a body landing on the floor and the shouts of his friends.

There would be consequences, Zhan Yao reflected as he pulled the thin extra blanket over him. But even if the other boys blamed him, there was no way they could actually connect him to what had happened. 

“Hey, you! Freaky kid!”

Zhan Yao had started eating lunch in a courtyard by the library because most of the kids who bothered him acted like they were allergic to books. But today they were mad enough that this didn’t stop them from searching for him there. 

He carefully put his books in the bag he carried everywhere. His tuition wouldn’t cover replacing another set, and given the last conversation with his father, he wasn’t counting on there being any help from home. By the time the boys had arrayed themselves in front of him, he had the bag slung over his chest and out of the way and both hands free. 

“What the fuck did you do to Billy?” asked the boy who most often stood at the ringleader’s shoulder.

Zhan Yao stared back at him. He knew the rules about looking away first and eye contact, he was finding, had other uses too. “What did he say I did to him?”

“He isn’t talking at all!”

“I didn’t touch him,” Zhan Yao said.

“You said something to him.”

Zhan Yao answered honestly. “It was only a suggestion.”

“Oh yeah, well here’s one from us - drop dead!” The boy nearest Zhan Yao launched himself forward, fist aimed at his face. 

What he and the other boys didn’t know was that although Zhan Yao hadn’t had the kind of martial arts training that they assumed everyone from Asia got - possibly because of movies, he and Bai Yutong had been neighbors for years and the other boy had insisted Zhan Yao come along to some of his judo and tai chi classes. So he wasn’t any kind of expert, but he knew more than he’d shown anyone here, and now he had no reason to hide it. 

The first punch sailed by Zhan Yao’s face as he stepped back and he stuck a foot out to trip the next boy who tried to hit him. The two of them ran into one another and landed in the duck pond, startling the birds and splashing water everywhere. The self-appointed new leader gaped at Zhan Yao and then flung himself forward with no sign of strategy or technique. Zhan Yao dodged easily and let the boy’s momentum take him in the same direction as his friends and stood back to enjoy the yelling for a few seconds.

When the trio had dragged themselves free, pursued by angry ducks, he turned and walked into the library where there were staff who didn’t tolerate noise, food, or students that smelled like algae and were dripping everywhere. 

The reaction to this attack didn’t come until several days later. Zhan Yao didn’t hear anything from the headmaster, but there was an email from his father when he got back from dinner. It was succinct and he felt a kind of inevitably come over him as he read it. 

Your latest mistake has been reported to me by the school. You will be pulled out of classes immediately and return to China where you will be evaluated by qualified professionals at a secure facility. Clearly, you are unable to control your impulses so it will be done for you.

\- Zhan Qitian

It was everything Zhan Yao had predicted his father might do with all of the impersonal consideration that had been hallmarks of their interactions as long as he could remember. And, there was no way that he was going to sit around and let this go on any longer. Luckily he hadn’t brought much with him and it all fit in a single bag. 

Zhan Yao stowed his laptop, charger cable and other electronics, packed enough clothes for a few days without a washing machine, counted the money he had and took a last look around the small room where he’d spent the last few months. This wasn’t the way he had planned on breaking ties with his father, but he had to admit it was fairly painless. 

Without looking over his shoulder, Zhan Yao walked out of the room, down the stairs, and out the front gates of the academy into London, on his own, with only the plans he made to guide him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhan Yao has made a friend & is being followed.

The first few nights Zhan Yao spent on his own went as expected. He managed to talk his way into a youth hostel, but had to move on quickly.

He didn’t have a lot of money and the boarding school staff were undoubtedly looking for a missing student.

He wasn’t old enough to get a job, not a legal one, and he didn’t enjoy violence enough to join the only gangs who would take an unproven kid who didn’t want to sell drugs. He estimated would have only taken him a few years to be running a gang of his own, but he had to eat now.

More than anything, Zhan Yao had to stay on the move and it was exhausting to review his list of basic necessities every day and come up short.

It had been a little over a month that Zhan Yao was on his own when he felt like he at least had a place to rest for a while. He’d made his way through London and wound up on the outskirts of the city. People asked fewer questions, even of a kid on his own if he stuck to the right neighborhoods, and set aside money to keep himself and his clothes clean. That and there were ways for him to make money if he was careful.

Zhan Yao was already known as being ‘scary-good’ at calculating odds on all kinds of games, and even whether or not it was a good idea to do things, of varying legality. He’d begun charging a sliding scale, partly on the advice of Charlie, who was at most a year older than Zhan Yao and who’d stepped up to help him avoid a fight with a gang several times. 

Charlie had purple hair and wore either all black or eye-popping floral patterns and refused to share their age or where they came from when other kids asked. They had also appointed themselves Zhan Yao’s ‘front office person’ even though he didn’t have an office or an address. So it meant they stuck close together and watched each other's backs, which Zhan Yao admitted was something useful. 

“You need somebody to keep track of this stuff,” Charlie said. “Would you remember to eat if I didn’t remind you?”

“I would,” Zhan Yao said, and his stomach complained in a loud counterpoint.

“Whatever you say, ZY.” Charlie pulled out a bag of street vendor food, greasy, but hot and filling and they dug in. 

As he ate, Zhan Yao glanced up at the crowd, and relaxed when he didn’t see a particular face. Someone was following him. It wasn’t the first time, kids alone on the streets were visible, often to worst kind of people, and Zhan Yao had learned how to avoid them all - sometimes running was the only option. This felt different in a way he couldn't explain yet.

Even though he’d only caught glimpses of the man at first, he could tell a few things that made him curious. The stranger was Chinese, in his 40s and seemed to know how to navigate the places away from tourist routes.

Maybe Zhan Yao was being optimistic, after all, it wasn’t as though adults from back home hadn’t proved they would hurt him just as well as anyone from England.

A week passed and he allowed the distance between them to narrow slightly. Zhan Yao wanted the man to know he had seen him and that this was a test.

For a city that was all about progress and being modern, Zhan Yao found the inescapable age of London comforting. Even steel and concrete couldn’t erase its past and he felt much the same speaking English more than Mandarin to people who couldn’t seem to decide whether his youth or his adaptability was more impressive.

Charlie leaned against Zhan Yao’s side. He moved away.

“I’m not hitting on you, dude,” Charlie said with a laugh.

“I know,” Zhan Yao.

“You just don’t like to be touched, sorry, personal space observed.”

Zhan Yao returned to tallying up their take for the day. It was enough to pay for at least a week’s worth of food and rent. The landlady should have reported them for being underage, but she needed the money and all her kids were grown so she mothered them a bit and looked the other way.

“Speaking of observing stuff,” Charlie began. “I saw that guy hanging around the bodega again.”

“He was at the corner cafe too,” Zhan Yao said.

“What? You didn’t tell me? This guy is following you around like a - an animal that stalks things!”

Charlie was waving their arms wildly enough that Zhan Yao stopped what he was doing to raise his eyebrows at them. “Please, be more specific, there are so many options.”

“Oh, shut up, you know what I mean. Do we need to pick up and move? It’s not like the cops would care.”

“I think he’s interesting,” Zhan Yao said slowly. As they talked he could see the man at his table sipping from a small cup with a kind of focus that drew his attention.

“Interesting? In what universe?” Charlie asked.

“I’m going to find out what he wants,” Zhan Yao said.

“Not without me you’re not,” Charlie said firmly.

They must have been a funny sight, a skinny teenage Chinese kid followed by a colorfully dressed teen of indeterminate gender who glared at anyone who got too close to them.

The man at the table was smiling just a little bit when they approached and put down his cup with a faint *clink* as it landed on the saucer.

“Hello,” he said.

Charlie made a faint noise and Zhan Yao crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ve been following us.”

“I’ve been following you, in particular,” the man said, not at all concerned about what he was admitting to doing.

“That’s so damn creepy,” Charlie said.

“You don’t have to listen,” Zhan Yao said.

Charlie leaned closer and said in a whisper, eyes on the man, “I’m not leaving you alone!”

Zhan Yao clicked his tongue. “I meant, you have music.” He nodded at the scratched up iPod Charlie had ‘found’ a couple of days ago.

“Fine.” Charlie put in the earbuds and took a seat next to Zhan Yao at the table, glare aimed at the man.

All of this interaction seemed to amuse him. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I’m not going to let you,” Zhan Yao said. He was offered a cup of tea from the pot by a waitress and accepted it.

The man waited a full minute for Zhan Yao to speak and when he didn’t, smiled. “My name is Zhao Jue and I’ve been looking for you.”

“Me, or any kid you can get ahold of?” Zhan Yao asked.

Zhao Jue looked directly at Zhan Yao in a way most people wouldn’t. “You, Zhan Yao.”

A slow blink was all the reaction Zhan Yao let show, but his muscles were poised to throw his cup of tea at Zhao Jue and flip the table before he and Charlie made a run for it.

“I am not some creep or stalker,” Zhao Jue said and took another sip of tea.

“All evidence would point to the opposite conclusion,” Zhan Yao said.

“Even so,” Zhao Jue said.”

“Then what?” Zhan Yao asked, compelled by the way Zhao Jue moved a finger deliberately around the rim of his cup.

“I was at one time, a friend of your family,” Zhao Jue. He must have noticed the way Zhan Yao twitched. “But not, Zhan Qitian.”

Zhan Yao tapped his index finger on the table. Zhao Jue’s gaze honed in on the movement immediately. “Are you lying to me?” Zhan Yao asked in a level voice.

Zhao Jue shook his head. “I am not and will never lie to you, Zhan Yao.”

That was quite a promise and one that no adult had managed to fulfill so far. Zhan Yao considered his options and stood up. “I’ll think about what you said.” He paused and added. “We’ll be here again tomorrow if you want to talk.”

Charlie hopped out of their seat and followed closely on Zhan Yao’s heels. “Tell me you’ve got a plan.”

Zhan Yao didn’t need to look over his shoulder, he could feel Zhao Jue’s gaze on him. “We both do. Let’s see how it plays out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My thanks to both stebeee and lilija_the_red who looked this over and made suggestions.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhan Yao considers a change of career and Zhao Jue puts on a demonstration.

Zhao Jue came back to the cafe twice more over the next week. He didn’t approach Zhan Yao or Charlie but did leave whatever article he’d been reading. It was a routine that neither of them agreed to aloud, but Zhan Yao read the articles and left them on the table with notes he’d written in the margins the next day. 

Zhan Yao and Charlie had a job in the East End after one of these visits and afterward, Zhan Yao remembered that he’d been looking forward to reading the case study on the possible implications for targeted hypnotic suggestions and several pieces of analysis that Zhao Jue had circled in the article. 

The people who’d contacted Zhan Yao, through Charlie were pushier than normal and eager to have their underground gambling den make more money. That wouldn’t have been a problem if they didn't think that Charlie should be pulling their weight in other ways. 

“Say, kid,” said the second in command from around a cigar he kept smoking, exhaling in everyone’s faces when he wanted to make a point. “How about you run a few errands for us while your friend looks over the books?”

“That’s not part of the deal,” Charlie said, arms crossed over their chest. 

Zhan Yao had been flipping through several notebooks filled with mostly legible notes and account details when Charlie answered. There were signals they had set up between one another for in case a job went sideways, and it had saved them more than once. One was tone of voice, and right now Charlie’s said ‘this isn’t good, be ready.’

As Charlie moved to stand up straighter and face the man who’d made the demand, Zhan Yao set the books back down on the desk and shifted to cover Charlie’s back. 

The boss didn’t even look up from where they were playing a game on their phone. “Just help us out, huh?” 

“We said no.” Zhan Yao didn’t raise his voice, he didn’t need to, but this got everyone’s attention. “And since that’s part of the deal, consider it off.”

After that Zhan Yao and Charlie had to do another thing they were fairly good at, which was running away as fast as they could. This time they wound up on a fire escape, ladder pulled up behind them while the gangsters shouted threats from the street.

“I’m so tired of crazy clients,” Charlie said and leaned back with a groan.

Zhan Yao shook his head. “He’s not crazy.”

“Not crazy?” Charlie gestured at the gangster who was trying to bring the building or ladder down with a baseball bat. “What do you call that?”

“Anger,” Zhan Yao said. He paused as the other gang members tried to drag the second in command away. “A lot of it.”

“Hope it wears off soon otherwise we’re going to bake out here in the sun,” Charlie said.

Zhan Yao cleared his throat and nodded at the stairs above them. The roof was only a couple of floors away. 

Charlie grinned. “Look at you, ZY taking us on an adventure, come on, let’s go!”

From the rooftop, it was easy to take the ladder down to a walkway and hurry toward home. 

“We need to screen people better,” Charlie said as they wiped the sweat off their face at the sink. The water pressure was acting up again so there was no chance of taking a shower for the next several hours. Charlie grimaced over their shoulder, dirt and grease smudged all over. 

“It would mean less running,” Zhan Yao said. He understood being physically fit but wanted to run when it was his decision and not because he was being chased. 

The next day Zhao Jue was at the cafe again and when Zhan Yao passed by the table he handed over a flyer. 

“What is this?” Zhan Yao asked. 

“A small event I’m putting on,” Zhao Jue said.

“Bringing Your Outer Self Inward?” Zhan Yao read. He gave Zhao Jue a curious look.

“Ridiculous name, a sponsor thought it sounded New Age appropriate.” 

Zhan Yao put the flyer on the table. “Good luck.”

“I was asking you to consider attending.”

Zhan Yao frowned. “Why?”

“I will be discussing mental susceptibility and suggestion,” Zhao Jue said, eyes on his cufflinks as he adjusted them.

“You mean hypnosis,” Zhan Yao said.

Zhao Jue shook his head. “Ah, but we don’t use that word. It puts off skeptics.”

So far Zhan Yao hadn’t seen any sign that Zhao Jue had an interest in anyone who didn’t have something he could use. “Do you care what they think?”

“Everyone can be useful,” Zhao Jue said and it sounded chiding. “I think you may find it interesting and there are people worth meeting.”

“I’ll think about it,” Zhan Yao said, but Zhao Jue nodded as if he’d already agreed.

“This guy creeps me out,” Charlie grumbled as they moved through a long line to reach the fairly inoffensively painted storefront listed on the flyer. 

“So does polyester,” Zhan Yao said, the argument one that they’d had several times already, once even that morning.

“Point. So why are we here?”

“I want to see him at work.”

“Huh?” Charlie craned their neck to see the flyer. “How is this crap work?”

“Let’s go and see,” Zhan Yao said.

They found a spot by the wall not anywhere close to the front of the room and with no view of the small stage. 

“We can’t even see what’s going on,” Charlie said.

A woman in a loose gown that had some kind of flower printed all over it and actual flowers woven into her braids tapped Zhan Yao on the shoulder. 

He flinched.

“Apologies for bothering you, I’d like to extend an invitation on behalf of our esteemed guest,” the woman said.

Charlie blinked at her. “Say what?”

“Our guest would like you two to be seated in the VIP section,” the woman said.

“Thank you, we will,” Zhan Yao said.

“Why?” Charlie asked in a hiss.

“I said I want to see what he does.” It seemed reasonable to him but it wasn’t until they were seated directly to the left of the stage that Charlie agreed the idea was a good one. 

A man in a suit that likely cost more than Zhan Yao’s tuition greeted the audience in a booming voice. 

“He looks like a banker,” Charlie said.

“Doesn’t seem as if he’d be interested in anything that wasn’t making him money,” Zhan Yao said, nodding. 

“Everyone, may I present the talented Zhao Jue,” the man said and directed everyone to applaud.

Charlie edged away from the stage. “This feels like we’ve walked into a cult meeting.”

“Let’s wait and see,” Zhan Yao said.

Just then Zhao Jue stepped onstage. In contrast to the man who’d introduced him, he looked like he was pleasantly surprised to see so many people, but Zhan Yao was watching him closely, and he smirked when the presenter began singing his praises. 

Zhao Jue rested one hand on the podium and nodded at the audience. “Thank you all for coming, I’d like to ask you to sit comfortably so we can turn the lights down.”

This wasn’t the first lecture Zhan Yao had attended outside of his classes, but they had been much different than what Zhao Jue was doing. 

First, he talked about the power of the mind and using it to push through obstacles. This prompted some skeptical noises from several men in the audience. 

“Well then, let me prove it to you,” Zhao Jue said.

“What? Here?” a man with an orange tie said. He looked surprised to have been called out directly and only went onstage at the urging of his friends. 

Zhao Jue tapped on the podium as he spoke to the man.

Even though the room was so quiet Zhan Yao could hear people around him breathing, Zhao Jue’s voice was only a murmur and he couldn't make out what he was saying. 

After a couple of seconds, the man turned toward the audience, performed a perfect handstand and once he was back on his feet, stared expressionlessly at Zhao Jue.

“This is only a low-level hypnotic suggestion, but our volunteer won’t move until I tell him he can,” Zhao Jue said. 

Zhao Jue snapped his fingers and the man staggered.

“What happened?” he asked. His friends laughed and one mimicked the handstand, which he refused to believe he’d done. 

“You see,” Zhao Jue said. “This is all it takes for me to reverse the hypnotic command.”

Around Zhan Yao people applauded. 

He clapped less loudly than everyone else, but Charlie barely put their hands together at all. 

“Are we impressed yet?” Charlie asked in a low voice. “Because I thought it was time for a nap.”

“It’s promising,” Zhan Yao said. 

After the man with the orange tie had been helped back to his seat another volunteer came forward.

Although Zhao Jue asked them questions or told them to do strange things, nothing was so extreme that it made anyone object. 

“He’s being kind of nice for a hypnotist,” Charlie said. “I’d tell people to strip and run down the street.”

“It’s smart to keep it harmless if he wants to get sponsors,” Zhan Yao said.

The presentation ended with more applause and an invite to the open bar in the restaurant next door.

“We’re not gonna be able to get into that,” Charlie said and rubbed their stomach which growled loudly. “I could eat half of those tiny sandwiches.”

The woman who’d guided several volunteers back to their seats approached from Zhan Yao’s left and smiled at him. 

“Excuse me, if you’re hungry, we’re having a private reception upstairs.”

Charlie jumped out of their seat. “Come on, let’s see what this guy has to eat.”

Just as the woman had said, the upper floor was much less crowded and had a long table set up with all kinds of food. 

Zhao Jue had been talking to a couple of people when Zhan Yao and Charlie entered, but he moved to wave at Zhan Yao as soon as he saw them.

“Now this young man has come to London to study,” Zhao Jue said. “I invited him to get a feeling for some of our cultural offerings.”

“Oh, how wonderful,” said one woman who swayed as she held onto the arm of the woman beside her. 

Zhao Jue put a hand out but didn’t quite touch Zhan Yao. “Please excuse me, everyone, I need to look after my young friends.”

Charlie stuck close to Zhan Yao until they passed by the table with food.

“Go on,” Zhan Yao.

Charlie looked hard at Zhao Jue. “Let me know when you’re ready to leave.”

Zhao Jue smiled as he guided Zhan Yao to a set of chairs by a small table in the corner.

“What did you think of the lecture?” Zhao Jue asked. 

“You know how to command a room,” Zhan Yao said.

“That is hardly a compliment,” Zhao Jue said, gaze on Zhan Yao’s face in a way that felt like he was scouring away the manners that everyone else used to hide what they were actually thinking. Nobody else had ever paid that kind of attention to Zhan Yao and it made him want to show off. 

“You gave them a hint of what you can do but didn’t scare them off,” Zhan Yao said. “Did it give you what you wanted?”

Now Zhao Jue was smiling even more widely. “So long as you’re interested in learning more it has.”

“You did all this to win me over?” Zhan Yao said. That was a little overwhelming since the man who’d raised him hadn’t cared what he did unless it wasn’t meeting his expectations. 

“I feel you’re worth winning over,” Zhao Jue said. “Does that scare you?”

“I don’t know why you’re trying so hard,” Zhan Yao said. 

Zhao Jue beckoned at one of the people hanging around and they brought over a tray of food and a pitcher of ice water and arranged all of it on the table for them. 

“Because, Zhan Yao, I see where you’ve come from and can show you a different way of life,” Zhao Jue said. 

“And what do you want from me?” Zhan Yao said. He hadn’t eaten a bite of food even though his last meal had been breakfast. 

“Your curiosity and talent,” Zhao Jue said. “I want the chance to teach you and watch you grow into your potential, nothing more.”

“What if I don’t do what you say?” Zhan Yao said.

“If you don’t rebel I’d be disappointed,” Zhao Jue said. “Who knows, you may find a better way of doing something. The point is I want to be a part of it. You can live in your current arrangement, or there are people I know who would foster you.”

“In order to be part of your entourage?” Zhan Yao said, guessing based on the way people acted around Zhao Jue and how close they stuck to him, even when they gave their little table some amount of privacy. 

“That’s right,” Zhao Jue said. He hadn’t eaten either, still keeping all his attention on Zhan Yao, obviously waiting to see what his answer would be. “What do you say?”

Zhan Yao picked up a sandwich and took a bite. 

Zhao Jue understood that was Zhan Yao’s answer and didn’t ask for guarantees, because he wouldn’t have gotten them. “Alright then, let’s see where this takes us.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhan Yao makes a return & Bai Yutong is forced to go to a lecture & enjoys it, in spite of himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to redfeathered & stebee who read this through, made suggestions & were generally indispensable. <3s.

Bai Yutong hated departmental continuing education opportunities. Mostly because they weren’t opportunities so much as mandatory and he hated sitting around while old men showed off with endless presentations. So when Bao Sir handed out a flyer for a lecture at the university's psychology department, he grimaced.

“No sneaking off, Bai Yutong,” Bao Sir said. “This expert came from London to share his insights and I expect you to take advantage of this chance.”

That was how Bai Yutong wound up in the back row of a university auditorium while around him students whispered to each other. 

“I heard he’s only going to be in town for a month or two and then he’s headed to the States,” one girl said to the girl next to her. 

“Well, I heard he’s really hot,” her friend said.

Both of them glanced questioningly at Bai Yutong and leaned closer to each other as they went on talking.

There was a ripple of conversation as a lanky man in a dark suit ascended the lecture stage. He tugged down the large blackboard behind him and began writing, first in English, then in Mandarin.

“If you’re here to skip another class, I don’t care. But know that I will eject anyone who causes a disruption.” He looked out at the audience, some of whom were sitting up a bit straighter in their seats now. As his attention shifted around the room. Bai Yutong twitched. It felt as if the man had paused, for less than an instant when he saw Bai Yutong, but that didn’t make sense, they had never met before. 

“I am Professor Zhan Yao from Oxford’s Department of Psychology,” he said. 

Bai Yutong blinked. Uncle Qintian’s last name was Zhan. A weird coincidence, but there was that nagging sense that he knew the man. 

Professor Zhan Yao was still talking and Bai Yutong focused his attention. 

The lecture was on the plausibility and widespread of hypnosis in various fields, a topic that Bai Yutong couldn’t have cared less about before this lecture. But as he listened to Professor Zhan Yao talk, obviously with great knowledge, there was something about him that made it impossible to look away. 

When the lecture ended, a crowd of students, male and female surrounded the speaking podium.

Bai Yutong snorted under his breath. He’d expected like this to happen, an attractive professor was one thing, but one who also knew his subject was on another level. He’d enjoyed what he understood of the lecture but wasn’t going to try and shove through the crowd and get clawed by the man’s admirers. He did stop and grab a flyer for the second lecture on the way out and stuck it in his pocket, but otherwise hurried off. 

If he’d been confronted about whether he thought the lecture was worthwhile, Bai Yutong would have said it was about as good as an afternoon at an arthouse movie. But, when the next lecture began, he was in the audience and the same for the one after it. 

He didn’t ask questions or stop and talk to Professor Zhan afterward, but somehow, it fast became something he actually looked forward to doing. 

Even though they’d never spoken, Professor Zhan made eye contact with Bai Yutong at least once during the lecture. Sometimes it seemed only to be acknowledgment of his presence, but several times they had very nearly shared an eye roll of exasperation at some ridiculous question. It wasn’t friendship or even a professional collaboration, but there was a connection and Bai Yutong discovered he wanted to find out what it might grow into. 

Then one afternoon after a lecture, Bao Sir waved Bai Yutong down in the lobby of headquarters when he returned. “How was the lecture?”

Bai Yutong shrugged, careful to keep any satisfaction off his face. “Most of it sounded unbelievable.”

Bao Sir stared hard. “But not all of it.” He clapped his hands. “Excellent. I expect you to take your squad with you to the next lecture.”

“Wait - “ Bai Yutong said, but Bao Sir had already strode off toward the elevators. It wasn’t an unreasonable request. The higher-ups were always after supervisors to find more training opportunities for officers that weren’t all about throwing each other around the gym. Even so, the thought of bringing other people into the lecture along with him felt sort of like they would be trespassing. 

Bai Yutong told himself it was dumb to think that, he’d never even talked to Professor Zhan, but the feeling lingered as he gathered the team together. 

In fact, the whole team was thrilled to spend time out of the office.

“Who knows, maybe he’ll have some good ideas,” Gongsun said. 

“He’s supposed to be handsome,” Wang Shao said. 

Bai Yutong slapped a flyer on the armrest of his chair and the others flinched. “You’re here to learn something if you can, not ogle the man. Pay attention.”

“Yes, Bia Sir,” they chorused.

The auditorium was even more crowded than last time and if they hadn’t been early, there wouldn’t have been any seats. By the time the professor arrived, on time and unhurried, there were students sitting on the steps, leaning against the walls and every seat was full.

Professor Zhan didn’t look surprised or smug that there were so many people there to listen to him. “I’ll continue where we left off,” he said and began without any other preamble. 

At the end of the lecture, everyone was not only awake, but more students looked to have paid attention and had questions. 

“Professor, is it really possible to control someone with hypnosis?” asked one boy, skepticism audible in his voice.

“Of course,” Professor Zhan said. “Haven’t you been paying attention.

Several students giggled. 

Another student raised their hand. “Can they make them do things without them knowing?”

“With a high level of expertise it’s possible,” Professor Zhan said.

“Bad things?” 

Professor Zhan put his notes down and looked at the crowd. “Who asked that?”

A bunch of students moved aside to expose a young man who tried to shrink back in his seat. 

Bai Yutong frowned. The kid looked sort of familiar.

“Um, I did.”

Professor Zhan looked intently at the kid. “Name and question.”

“Bai Chi.”

Bai Yutong blinked and sat up straighter, beside him the others looked surprised. 

“And,” Bai Chi continued in a voice that quavered slightly. “I wanted to know if someone could make people do bad things with hypnosis and they wouldn’t know about it.”

“The answer to that is layered, with talent and experience a master could exert a great deal of control, particularly over a susceptible mind,” Professor Zhan said. 

Murmurs broke out across the room. The students weren’t the only ones talking excitedly to one another.

Man Ha leaned forward in her chair. “Boss, doesn’t that sound like our case?”

Bai Yutong glared. “Hypnotism is just the excuse that lunatic’s lawyer used. We have all the evidence, case closed.”

“However,” Professor Zhan continued, and when Bai Yutong glanced up, that focused gaze was resting on him. For some reason the attention made Bai Yutong sit up further in his chair and look back. 

“Even a master would usually leave some trace of their work in a hypnotic subject,” Professor Zhan said. “Although it would take another master to identify and remove them.”

Now Zhao Fu was prodding Bai Yutong. “Boss…”

“I heard him,” Bai Yutong said. More than that, something in the way Professor Zhan had looked at him made him think part of this was intended for him to hear and act on. 

“Man Ha, I want you and Zhao Fu to look into the suspect’s background again. Don’t make a big deal of it, we don’t need their lawyer jumping on this, but see what you find.”

Man Ha nodded. “Yes, boss.”

Gongsun hummed softly. “I’ll review the autopsy results. There may be something that didn’t show up immediately.”

Bai Yutong nodded. “Good, this may be a complete goose chase, but I want to be sure.”

“What about the professor?” Wang Shao said. 

“Do a background check on him too,” Bai Yutong said.

As if he heard them or knew what they were talking about, Professor Zhan glanced at where the team sat and smiled very slightly at Bai Yutong. 

“Make the background check on Professor Zhan a priority,” Bai Yutong said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bai Yutong gets a mostly unhelpful infodump & winds up actually talking to Zhan Yao, which is both more & less helpful than he expected.

Zhao Fu began the SCI team briefing with the distinctly unhelpful announcement that “It turns out that professors are really boring.”

Bai Yutong stared at his team and then at the extremely thin folder that comprised all the information gathered so far about one Professor Zhan Yao. 

“Tell me about Professor Zhan Yao, not just the stuff you found online,” Bai Yutong said.

The entire team looked at each other and then him. 

Man Ha spoke up. “That’s the thing, he’s really boring. No rumors online, not even bad costumes.”

Bai Yutong rapped his fingers on the table. “Then what did you capable investigators actually learn?”

Everyone sat upright and rustled their notes, but carefully didn’t look at Bai Yutong. 

“He’s been living in London for at least five years, went to school there, does speaking tours and writes a lot of papers.” Man Ha said. 

“On what?” Bai Yutong said.

Zhao Fu squinted at his laptop. “Hypnosis, stuff about emotion, and a lot of words that are really long and look like chemicals or something.” 

That was a lot of words that didn’t make sense when put together, but Bai Yutong pressed his team further. ‘Any actual titles?”

“The Intersectionality of Hypnotic Suggestion and Genetic Predisposition, and Applications of Latent Emotional Susceptibility,” Zhao Fu said. 

Wang Shao crunched down on a handful of chips. “Sounds boring.”

“Huh.” Zhao Fu stared at the paper. “It made more sense when Professor Zhan Yao talked about it.” Bai Yutong could already see this briefing headed off the rails and spoke up.

Bai Yutong waved his hands encouragingly. “Okay, so this guy’s good at explaining really boring psychology stuff and lives in London. Do we know anything else? Does he have a family?”

Man Ha shook her head. “He doesn’t talk about them in his interviews and there aren’t any marriage records.”

“Is that bad?” Zhao Fu asked. “Lots of people aren’t married and don’t have a lot of family.”

“But they don’t know things about ongoing investigations we haven’t released to the public,” Bai Yutong said. 

“We haven’t confirmed what he said, it could just be a theory,” said Wang Shao. 

“Come on, people,” Bai Yutong said. “Why is a professor from London keeping track of criminal investigations in China?”

“Point,” the team said more or less in unison.

Bai Yutong rapped a pen against the table. “Either Professor Zhan Yao is interested in this type of thing or he knows something he isn’t telling us. That makes him somebody we need to know more about.”

Wang Shao waved a hand. “Boss, the professor doesn’t have a criminal record, so that means hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“That we know of,” Zhao Fu said. “Ow!”

Man Ha looked at Bai Yutong as if Zhao Fu wasn’t rubbing his leg and groaning loudly right next to her. 

This sort of goofing off was more or less the way they all worked best, so Bai Yutong let it go. “Okay, so you all need to keep digging into this professor. What have you found out about the suspect?”

Zhao Fu grabbed another set of notes and flipped through them. “There weren’t any red flags at his job, and his family said he was a good guy, but we’ve also been tracking his online activity.” 

Bai Yutong could tell this was leading somewhere. “Alright, what’s he been doing?”

“Lots of clubs, then he was reading about some plants, and spent a bunch of time on some site behind a paywall.”

“Anything illegal?” Bai Yutong said. 

“We looked into it, and it’s a lot of talk so far,” Man Ha said. “But there’s something weird about some of these chat threads.”

“Keep looking,” Bai Yutong said. “That guy was slimy enough already.”

Gongsun stomped into the conference room and flung a report on the table. “That man’s lawyer is going to wind up on my table if he doesn’t stay out of the morgue.”

Bai Yutong blinked. “Whose?”

“Our main suspect,” Gongsun said. 

“What did you find?” Bai Yutong said.

“The most minute trace evidence that suggests those victims’ deaths are connected,” Gongsun said.

Bai Yutong gestured at Gongsun before he could start ranting. “Were they drugged?”

Gongsun jabbed at his report as if the contents had offended him. “Not with any chemical compound, but some metabolic levels were skewed.”

“Enough to kill them?” Man Ha said. 

“No, but it would have accompanied a change in behavior.”

“Seen it before?” Bai Yutong said.

Gongsun shook his head. “This is completely without equivalent. I don't even know anyone who’s doing pharmaceutical research into how these systems process emotions.” 

That got Bai Yutong’s attention. “Emotion?”

“Yes, some of these levels might be explained by extreme variations in emotional state.”

“Environmental factors would have to be part of the cause. High levels of stress at being unable to follow through on the fight or flight response is likely.”

Bai Yutong looked at the details of the case spread out across the board, some pictures connected by lines and notes, others circled and with question marks beside them. 

“I’ll be looking into a lead tomorrow. Text me if you get any more leads.”

“Tell the Professor hi!” Wang Shao perked up for the time it took to be faced with the collective incredulous stares of his teammates. 

“This is an investigation, not a blind date,” Bai Yutong said. 

“It could be,” Zhao Fu said and groaned when he was kicked again and from the sound of it, harder by Man Ha. 

“We’ll let you know what we find out,” Man Ha said. 

Bai Yutong had nothing against universities, except for the fact that most students were for some part of their schooling, absolute disasters that were fun to watch, so long as he didn’t have to swoop in and clean up after them. Not, he admitted, that most of the people attending Professor Zhan Yao’s lectures seemed like they would be doing anything more embarrassing than writing love letters during the lecture. 

Most of them weren’t even trying to be subtle about it. When Bai Yutong took his seat in the lecture hall, two girls beside him and one boy were actually arguing over whose handwriting would be worthy of Professor Zhan Yao’s attention. The argument shortly became a physical scuffle. 

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Bai Yutong said. He managed to break up the fight before it attracted much attention, but when he herded the students out of the lecture hall he had gotten the attention of his target. 

Professor Zhan Yao didn’t call out the students who were clearly only there to gawk, but he didn’t tolerate whispering or other distractions. Several more groups of students were shushed with nothing more than a narrow-eyed look and Bai Yutong ejected two more when they wouldn’t settle down. 

By the end of the lecture, Bai Yutong felt as if he’d been doing more crowd control than observation and was about to make his way out of the hall in frustration when a student ran after him.

“Sir! Wait!” 

Bai Yutong turned to find a young woman at his heels. “Yes?”

“The professor asked if you had any feedback about the discussion,” she said. 

“Huh?” Bai Yutong blinked. “Was I supposed to fill out a form or something?” That would be all he needed, for the paperwork to follow him even when he wasn’t actually at headquarters. 

The student smiled and then covered her mouth with one hand. “No, no, it’s just that Professor Zhan Yao thought you had something to ask him?”

As far as Bai Yutong knew he hadn’t spent more of the lecture staring at the professor than usual, so that seemed like curiosity or maybe he was being taunted somehow. It was enough to make him want to find out what the man wanted. “Alright, let’s go.”

Professor Zhan Yao was sitting at one of the tables in the front row, a tablet in front of him and was reading something when Bai Yutong and the student came back into the room.

“Professor?” the student said.

When he looked up, Professor Zhan Yao nodded at the student. “Thank you, will you be attending the next lecture?”

The student, cheeks flushed, stammered. “Yes, of course!” She glanced from Bai Yutong to Professor Zhan Yao and then hurried out of the room.

“Pretty enthusiastic about your work if she wants to show up for another of these things,” Bai Yutong said. He realized how that sounded after the words were out of his mouth and grimaced. 

Professor Zhan Yao’s expression was hard to read. “I doubt the same can be said about you.”

“Huh?” 

Professor Zhan Yao tapped the screen of his tablet. On it was yet another speculative news headline about the lack of progress made in Bai Yutong’s current case. Someone had decided that being thorough was the same as doing nothing.

“Idiots,” Bai Yutong muttered. Not quietly, going by the way Professor Zhan Yao raised his eyebrows. “I mean, they don’t look beyond what’s gonna get them the biggest reaction.”

“Is that why you’re here?” Professor Zhan Yao said. “You’re looking past the surface of this case?”

It wasn’t like he had been all that subtle, Bai Yutong admitted. And Professor Zhan Yao was definitely not somebody who would be impressed if he told a plausible story that would have fooled just about everyone else. He decided to go with blunt over being polite.

“I think you know more about this case than you’re telling the police,” Bai Yutong said. 

“Oh?” Professor Zhan Yao lowered his chin and looked Bai Yutong squarely in the face. “Do you think I’m a suspect?”

With somebody else, Bai Yutong might have been polite, but he’d spent enough time in this lecture hall listening to Professor Zhan Yao that he could guess how the man would respond to meaningless flattery. And anyway, Bai Yutong knew he was terrible at that sort of doubletalk.

“You’re not under suspicion,” Bai Yutong said. Which was technically true, it was just his own instincts that were prompting him to look deeper into the background of a seemingly unassuming professor. “But, I’d like you to answer some questions about this case.”

“Such as what?” Professor Zhan Yao said. 

“First off, why are you so interested?” Bai Yutong waved a hand to stave off the obvious answer. “Don’t tell me it’s just news. You know something you haven’t told me or anyone else on the police force.”

Professor Zhan Yao hadn’t broken eye contact or shown any signs of nervousness when he said, “Did you want me to tell you or the police?” 

The man was being a pain in the ass on purpose, Bai Yutong could tell. “I am the police. So tell me.”

Professor Zhan Yao smirked briefly and sat on the edge of the desk. “I noticed this case because it was apparent the perpetrator is using a form of mental conditioning not widely practiced.”

“You mean, like hypnosis or other mind tricks?”

“The preferred word is technique,” Professor Zhan Yao said. “And hypnosis is hardly a trick, but that’s not relevant at the moment. The point is, this person has such a poor grasp on it they can’t control the outcome.”

Bai Yutong frowned. “Meaning what?”

Professor Zhan Yao clicked his tongue in disapproval or disgust. “They’re killing people by accident.”

A headache suddenly pressed down on Bai Yutong and stared harder at Professor Zhan Yao. “He’s such a moron he can’t even use a mental technique correctly, is that what you’re saying?”

“It’s not a simple technique, but this person hasn’t even gotten the basics right.” Professor Zhan Yao tapped the tablet screen and the headline there and looked down his nose at it. “Whatever he knows is third hand at best and he likely found it online somewhere.”

“And how do you know he’s using this technique?” Bai Yutong said. 

“I’ve researched its effects and can recognize the traces it leaves in its subjects,” Professor Zhan Yao said.

“So you can do it the right way?” Bai Yutong was basically questioning the man’s credentials, but he’d passed frustration and was headed towards wanting to punch something. 

In contrast, Professor Zhan Yao looked completely unruffled by the anger that was all but pouring off Bai Yutong. “Yes, of course.”

Bai Yutong gritted his teeth. “Why didn’t you tell the police any of this before?”

Professor Zhan Yao met Bai Yutong’s gaze squarely. “Would you have believed me if I’d said your suspect is a poor practitioner of mental conditioning?”

He had a point, and Bai Yutong rubbed the bridge of his nose in what he could tell was a futile attempt to avoid an impending headache. “No, but I’d appreciate it if you still came in and talked to the squad. We could use an expert.”

“Not to mention you’d like to verify I’m not connected to the suspect in some way,” Professor Zhan Yao said. He didn’t look offended or as if he felt much of anything about such an accusation as he packed up his belongings efficiently and unhurriedly.

Since the professor had said it, Bai Yutong couldn’t believably deny that he was still fixated on the weirdness only he seemed to be picking up from him. “It’d help tie up loose ends.”

Bag packed, Professor Zhan Yao said, “And what do I get out of this?”

“Use it as part of your research. Stress and special investigation teams or something.”

Professor Zhan Yao tilted his head slightly to the side and looked Bai Yutong over for several long moments. “I do have consultant fees, and will need to speak with the university.”

Bai Yutong hadn’t expected the professor to agree without being bothered about it, and not so fast. “My boss can take care of all that. When can you start?”

“I’m available this afternoon,” Professor Zhan Yao said. He stowed his tablet and scattered papers into a satchel, which gave Bai Yutong time to readjust his own schedule to accommodate this unexpected boon.

“The department really appreciates your assistance,” Bai Yutong said finally. 

“Let’s see if you say the same,” Professor Zhan Yao said and brushed past Bai Yutong as he headed for the door. 

Bai Yutong stood motionless, processing the verbal dig and then hurried after Professor Zhan Yao. This collaboration was going to be a challenge, but if he could put those niggling suspicions to rest, it would be one he savored.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a bit longer because getting these two to actually talk was trickier than expected. But, things are moving along now. lilija_the_red beta read & gave invaluable feedback.


End file.
